Wilson's Sport & Marine

To first explain the entire incident more clearly. I was snowmobiling in northern Wisconsin and was going accross the lake at about 90 mph. I drive a 2011 Arctic cat CFR which had 2300 miles on it.  I hit a ice heave (bump) on the lake and managed to bend the main driveshaft that propels the track underneath the snowmobile. I hit the bump with such force that I bent a 1 1/4 inch thick X 20 inch long (aprox), steel shaft. The shaft was spining at anincredible rate of speed in order to move the snowmobile at 90 mph. I could not move the snowmobile faster than 25 mph after the impact. The shaft was bent so badly that it shook the snowmobile horribly. I then drove it off the lake to the nearest place I could park it (aprox. 3 to 5 miles). I then trailered it to Wilson's Sport and Marine to have it repaired. The initial part of my experience went well. I brought the snowmobile in and told them that it was going to be covered by my insurance and to also fully inspect the rest of the snowmobile for any further damage. They inspected the snowmobile within a few days. They communicated well with my insurance company and I. The snowmobile was repaired within 8 days. They also held it free of charge until I returned from my family vacation (aprox 2 weeks). This is end of my good experience. 
    About 4 weeks after I had the snowmobile repaired, I took it on another trip up north again. This was the first time I was using the snowmobile after I had it repaired. On the first day I put on 80 miles. About 65 miles into the day I notices a squeak / scratching sound coming from underneath the snowmobile. I contributed it to some ice being stuck in the track / suspension. This is where a lot of problems start to show. The next morning I went to get the snowmobile ready to go and took it for a spin quickly to make sure that the noise was no longer there. It was. Upon inspection, of the snowmobile, we found that the outer bearing on one side of the driveshaft had failed. We replaced the bearing on site with limited tools. It took 2 men, 4 hours, to replace the damaged bearing.  Fortunately there is two bearing next to each other on that side of the driveshaft. When the outer bearing failed, the inner bearing still carried the shaft. I replaced both bearings right away. Bearings cost me a total of $74 total. Fortunately these bearing failed on the way back to the cabin. Had I been 100 miles in the other direction and the bearing failed completely the cost would have been thousands. There could have even been the possibility of bodily harm had the shaft and track locked up when the bearings failed. 
    Upon arrival back home I called Wilson's and notified them of the problem that I had. I explained to the service manager what had happened and explained to him that the bearings, that they didn't change, failed. I expressed my displeasure in a very mature maner. I told them that I would like to be reimbursed for the bearings that they failed to change. I was not seeking any monetary value for my time or efforts. I simply wanted to get paid back my $74. I mentioned that it was negligence on their part that these bearings never got changed. I was met with a broken record playback of that it was pure coincidence that the bearings failed after 65 miles. He also explained that his service tech, who had 24 years of experience, inspected the bearing by "feeling" them and saying they "looked" OK. He also went on to explain that he has seen bearings fail in new snowmobiles from the factory. He said its not "regualar practice" to replace the bearings. If they feel OK then they must be alright. I personally don't care about another snowmobile from the factory or how his tech said the bearings "felt" OK. How can you possibly tell a bearing is simply OK after taking the sort of impact that the driveshaft had taken. A bearing is a precision machined piece of metal.  He tried to tell me that the tunnel of the sled had absorbed the impact. I believe he failed to realize that the driveshaft is connected to the tunnel of the sled by a series of bearings and various style of "brackets". I tried to explain these things to him again but was once again met with the broken record recording of the previous sentence. After all this he tried to "pass the buck" back onto my insurance company and said I should seek reimbursment from them. Now this also raises a further question. If one would believe that you could get reimbursement from the insurance company, that would imply that one would also believe that those parts would have qualified for replacement.....perhaps in the first place?  I even went on to ask why I was never even given the option to replace the bearings. I would have been more that happy to pay a few extra dollars to have the bearings replaced. I even went on to remention that it was an insurance job and the bill was guaranteed to be paid, why skimp on a few bearings? Why compromise the snowmobile for $74 worth of bearings? Why compromise someones safety and the possibility of a future breakdown? I again was met with the mundane broken record recording of the previous statement and him trying to pass the buck onto my insurance company. So, I did contact my insurance company. The insurance agent, the insurance adjuster (who inspected the snowmobile at their shop), and I all agreed that the bearings should have been replaced. If the insurance company believes that the bearings should have been replaced, then why weren't they replaced? The insurance company is now paying for my time and parts. The only people who believe that the bearings didn't need replacement are the people who worked on the snowmobile and those are the same people trying to pass the buck.  Wilson's should pony up and pay for their negligence. $74 is a cheap lesson learned. Had the bearings gone out fully, all the brand new parts, and many more, would need to get replaced. 
    So in summary, the overall experience that I had was horrible. I'll will never take anything to Wilson's again to get repaired. I do not need a company trying to "pass the buck" on something when it comes to my wallet and safety.